


Right at Home

by AlwaysMyChoices



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Children, F/M, Family, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27592481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysMyChoices/pseuds/AlwaysMyChoices
Summary: During a family camping trip in the backyard, Ethan has a suggestion for his wife.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart), Ethan Ramsey/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 19





	Right at Home

“I think they’re finally asleep,” Charlie whispered as she carefully crept towards her husband. With only the moonlight as a guide, she navigated her backyard with extreme caution. One false move could wake up the two precious children she’d spent the last thirty minutes coaxing to sleep.

Ethan, who had masterfully excused himself from the last bedtime story, watched from across the backyard. He had to admit that it was amusing to watch Dr. Charlotte Greene-Ramsey, a celebrated diagnostician and medical researcher, sneak away from a neon orange tent with a grass-stained teddy bear in hand. He was sure that, even if he described it to their coworkers on Monday morning, none would be able to picture it. At work, she was a fastidious and intimidating attending. At home, she wore friendship bracelets with their daughter and arranged late-night camping trips to their backyard.

For what felt like the hundredth time that night, Ethan Ramsey was startled with how much he adored his wife.

He still wasn’t quite sure how he had pulled it off – the amazing wife, the growing family, and the townhouse with a yard. A decade earlier, he would have laughed off such an incredulous idea. It was probably all Charlie’s doing. Her relentless love and charming smile were enough to change his whole destiny, not that Ethan minded. Every day, he looked around his home – full of toys, medical journals, and photos of his family – and felt grateful to have this life. Sometimes, in particularly wonderful moments, he worried he would wake up and realize he had imagined the whole thing. Eight years after he married Charlie, he still thought this was all too good to be true.

Charlie, on the other hand, seemed a little less aware of how lovely and magical the night was.

Collapsing onto the grass next to her husband, Charlie leaned her head against his shoulder and let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

“Why did we agree to do this again?” Charlie asked.

“At the time, it seemed like a particularly adorable idea.”

“Lori suggested it. Lori makes _everything_ seem adorable,” Charlie grumbled, though her soft smile took away some of the complaint’s power.

“It’s terrifying how cute she is, right?” Ethan asked, casting a casual glance at the tent where their five-year-old daughter blissfully slept.

“ _Terrifying_ ,” Charlie emphatically repeated, “It’s a Friday night, and our daughter has us camping outside. No five-year-old should be that persuasive. And Daniel? He’s still learning to talk, and he still manages to say the sweetest things.”

“This morning, when you left early for work,” Ethan looked down at his wife, knowing he would want to catch her reaction as he continued, “He saw me kiss you goodbye, and he asked me if he could also kiss you goodbye in the mornings.”

“He did?” Charlie asked, eyes wide and shining with adoration. When Ethan nodded his head in confirmation, Charlie fell into her husband’s chest and closed her eyes, “How did we make such perfect children?”

Ethan smiled softly, twisting his finger around an errant curl that had fallen from Charlie’s ponytail, “They’ll probably be demons after puberty.”

Charlie chuckled into Ethan’s chest, though she tried very hard to not laugh too loud and accidentally wake her children.

Ethan squeezed his wife softly, running his hand along her upper arm. He let his eyes wander to the stars as he appreciated the moment. They were still too close to the city to see the true magnificence of the night sky, but that didn’t make the night any less perfect.

“I’m really happy we’re here,” Ethan murmured.

“In our backyard?” Charlie clarified. Unlike Ethan, she didn’t need to look at the stars. She was perfectly happy with her head on his chest, allowing the steady rise and fall of his breath to comfort her.

“No, I mean _here_. Married with kids. I didn’t think I’d get to have that,” Ethan admitted, for what was hardly the first time since he’d married Charlie eight years ago, “Thank you.”

Charlie lazily looked up at her husband – still obscenely handsome, maybe even more so now that he’d started to grey at the temples. She still felt like a lovesick intern pining after the austere attending. She hoped she would always feel that way, even when they were both old and grey. Some of her friends longed for the early days of their relationships before responsibilities stole the young rush of a burgeoning relationship. Charlie, unlike them, felt more confident of her marriage every day. Today, Charlie had the benefit and security of knowing Ethan was here to stay – something she was too nervous to count on when they first started dating. 

Even when they were overworked, exhausted, and overwhelmed, Charlie looked at Ethan with the assurance that she would be able to look over at him for the rest of her life.

“You always say that like I gave you some gift,” Charlie rolled her eyes, leaning her chin on Ethan’s chest so she could look up at him, “You gave me this, too. You chose to be here as much as I did. I couldn’t exactly give birth to your children without some participation on your side.”

Ethan chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to Charlie’s forehead. Like she always did, she closed her eyes softly and smiled. He liked kissing his wife, sure, but he really liked kissing her forehead just so he would watch her reaction after.

“Well, in that case, thank you, Charlie, for making this life _with me_ ,” Ethan corrected thoughtfully, earning Charlie’s immediate approval.

“You’re welcome, Ethan,” Charlie leaned up to kiss him.

Ethan smiled, and leaning his head back to admire the stars, he felt a profound moment of peace.

A moment of peace that was eventually interrupted by the stray thought that had echoed in his mind for the last week.

“Speaking of Lori’s persuasiveness…” Ethan began delicately.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “What about it?”

“She told me what she wants for her birthday.”

“Ethan,” Charlie warned, “We can’t take her into surgery! I don’t care what Bryce says.”

“No, thank God, she gave that one up,” Ethan sighed with relief.

Last month, Lori heard that one of her friends got to go with her uncle to work, and Lori insisted that she get to do the same. Unfortunately, Lori’s favorite uncle was Bryce, and she wouldn’t be satisfied to join him on rounds or watch from the corner while he finished paperwork. Delores Ramsey wanted to be part of the action during a real surgery. Bryce, of course, consented and told Charlie she was being too strict for objecting.

“ _Finally_ ,” Charlie relaxed, “So what does she want?”

Ethan paused.

“Is it worse than participating in surgery?” Charlie asked anxiously.

“She wants… a sister.”

_Oh._

“A sister?”

“Preferably, though she said she would accept another brother if we couldn’t do better.”

Despite herself, Charlie laughed. Of course, Lori would specify her preferences.

“And I think I support her,” Ethan added nervously.

Charlie sat up, eyes shooting to her husband in shock. She stared at him as if trying to decide if she had imagined his last remark.

“You do?”

Ethan studied his wife’s expression as he nodded his head.

She was understandably shocked. But… was she… was she laughing?”

Charlie bit on her lower lip to swallow her chuckle, “Ethan Ramsey, are you working with our five-year-old right now?”

“I’m just as shocked as you are,” Ethan admitted, reassured by her reaction. He knew he was asking for a lot. Raising two children and balancing their careers was difficult already. Adding another would introduce far more complications, especially for Charlie as she would be responsible for carrying and delivering a child. Ethan didn’t want to pressure her into something she wasn’t comfortable with, and he really was happy with their life now.

He had no real reason for wanting a third child, no undeniable logic to accompany his argument. All of the careful rules he used to have for making life-decisions didn’t apply.

He loved Charlotte. He loved Delores. He loved Daniel. He loved Jenner. And he knew he would love another child.

Charlie opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, there was a cry from the neon tent.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Daniel, their three-year-old, called from across the backyard.

Ethan and Charlie knew it was probably a nightmare. He had them occasionally, and just like tonight, they usually woke up Lori, too. Calming Daniel down was rarely a struggle, but getting Lori _and_ Daniel back to sleep without some side-adventure was almost always a challenge.

“I’ll take it,” Ethan offered, knowing he owed his wife after he left her to finish story time alone.

“Thank you,” Charlie fell back into the grass, privately relieved she could relax while Ethan handled this himself.

“But when I get back-“ Ethan started, only for Charlie to finish for him.

“When you get back, we’ll talk about it,” Charlie offered a reassuring smile, the kind that always made him smile in return.

“I love you, Charlie.”

“I love you, too, Ethan.”


End file.
